It's been quite an adventure raising a now-teenager who was diagnosed with diabetes just after her first birthday! Please realize that what you'll read here is not intended as medical advice; it's just the ramblings of a sleep-deprived mom. Always consult your medical team about your treatment options, but do stop by from time to time for a bit of perspective.

The Muffin Chronicles: Episode 1

My daughter has taken the same basic lunch to school since first grade:

A sandwich (usually sunflower seed butter and jelly)

Fruit (grapes, berries, a clementine, apple slices)

A salty snack (pretzels, goldfish crackers, sunchips)

This year, she needed a lunchbox addition. With a 7 a.m. start to her school day because of a period 0 choir class, breakfast and lunch are a long time apart. The previous lunch wasn't filling her up anymore, even with a larger serving of fruit and a heartier sandwich.

She needed something else nutritious which could be eaten quickly, wouldn't spike her blood sugar, and wouldn't rip out her braces. The braces part eliminated the obvious granola bar choice, especially when paired with eating quickly. We tried a couple of brands of soft cereal bars, but there was a definite blood sugar spike just in time for important classes like biology and geometry. Her lactose issue eliminated cheese or yogurt options. So we went with:

Corn muffins are her favorite but they're even better with blueberries.

Homemade mini muffins. It sounds ambitious but hear me out. If once every couple of weeks I make a batch of mini muffins and freeze them, I can take two out every morning, put them in a little container in her lunch box and she has a decent 20-ish gram snack. Some recipes are good 'as is,' and for others I substitute whole wheat flour or decrease the sugar to make them a little easier on the blood sugar.

Corn muffin recipes are plentiful so I won't bore you with that one, but I do plan to share a couple of (hopefully successful) muffin experiments in future editions of 'The Muffin Chronicles' this fall!

About Me

I've been writing Adventures In Diabetes Parenting since early 2011. It's written as a glimpse into our family's life with Type 1 Diabetes. I also dabble in writing about parenting, food, gardening and much more.
I can be reached at adventuresindiabetesparenting@gmail.com